M A I N   N E W S

Ajit Singh sworn in, gets Aviation
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 18
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh today joined the Congress-led UPA-II government as Cabinet minister in-charge of the Civil Aviation portfolio.

The Jat leader from Uttar Pradesh was sworn in by President Pratibha Patil at a 50-minute ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He has become the Civil Aviation Minister at a time when most airlines, including state-owned Air India, are struggling for survival.

His inclusion into UPA-II comes ahead of the Assembly elections in the state due in March-April 2012. The Congress and the RLD have already decided to fight the election together.

Son of former Prime Minister Charan Singh, Ajit Singh, is a six-time member of the Lok Sabha and represents the family bastion, Baghpat.

This is the fourth time that the 72-year-old MP from Baghpat has joined the Union Cabinet. He was Industry Minister in the VP Singh government in 1989 and Food Minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1995-96. He held the agriculture portfolio in the BJP-led NDA government from July 2001 to May 2003.

The RLD has five MPs in the Lok Sabha, including Singh’s son Jayant, who represents Mathura constituency. In the coming Assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress and the RLD hope to benefit from their combined support base among the voters.

Political acrobat

• Ajit Singh, 72, is the son of former Prime Minister Charan Singh
• The Jat leader from UP is a six-time member of the Lok Sabha and represents the family bastion, Baghpat
• This is his fourth stint in the Union Cabinet